The Lesmeister Cistern

A cistern is a water reservoir, similar to a well, but instead of extending down to ground water beneath the water table, a cistern is a container for rain water. Generally, gutters carrying rain water from the building roof were directed into the cistern. Such is the case with the Lesmeister cistern. The fresh water was then pumped as needed, generally using human power to do the pumping.

The Lesmeister cistern, long ago forgotten, was re-discovered during construction of the Lesmeister Guesthouse in 2012. It had been capped over long ago by the concrete basement floor of the building, and the guesthouse construction men nearly lost their jackhammer into the cistern when they were removing The Laurel apartment’s old, irregular concrete basement floor in order to pour a new, level floor for the apartment’s bedroom.

The workers pumped the cistern dry and put a ladder in so they could climb down and investigate their discovery. In the bottom of the cistern they found just one old, broken glass Mason jar. The next time it rained, the cistern had water in it again, ready to continue serving as it had been intended to over 100 years ago.

In one photo above, taken the day the old cistern was discovered, the surface of the water was 10 feet below ground level, and the water was 6 feet deep, meaning the cistern is 16 feet deep, and it is 8 feet in diameter. Some basic π r2 math shows the capacity of the huge cistern to be 6000 gallons of water.

Since the Lesmeister building was built in the days before Pocahontas had a municipal water system, they built a cistern, just as many of the town’s buildings and homes had cisterns to hold water for drinking and bathing. We can only speculate as to why the Lesmeister building needed such a large water storage capacity. Since the south half of the building originally housed a grocery store, perhaps the water helped keep the vegetable produce cool, prolonging its shelf life. Or perhaps they sold drinking water to their neighbors.

The 100+ year-old cistern is still in pristine condition, without a single crack in the plaster that covers its brick walls. We added lighting and brought in engineers from Little Rock to design the steel and concrete that now caps the cistern, and we imported from California the “bullet proof glass” floor that creates a window so guests in The Laurel apartment bedroom can safely view the cistern’s excellent craftsmanship.

You work hard! Now it’s time to relax…

Google Reviews

Let me say that I have never stayed in a more beautiful place, I was there because of work and was lucky enough to stay... in two of the I wanna say apartments the first was three levels of absolute beauty, the art, the state of the art appliances, the jacuzzi tub, heat toliet seat, everything was awesome, the one level was also amazing I highly without a doubt recommend staying here. Thank you for a wonderful experience.read more

Great place to stay at. We needed to travel to pocahontas last minute, and quickly searched where to stay around the... area, when I saw this place I definitely had to stay. When we arrived and opened the door I was in awe. Completely exceeded my expectations. Bed was super comfy, the kitchen was well stocked with all the pans and cooking things you would need to make a meal which we did. We stayed in "The Laurel" with the cistern in the floor, that was the coolest part of the experience. We were asked so many times by people we were visiting locally "where is this place". Definitely a wonderful gem to check out if you find yourself out that way.read more

This is the best place ever. I travel to Pocahontas every year for work. I have stayed at the Lesmeister Guesthouse... for the last 5 yrs. I just love it. Each property is stocked with any imaginable thing you could possibly need during your stay. I can't say which one of the properties I like the best because all of them are wonderful. Clean, spacious, quiet, safe, and just an enjoyable place to stay.read more

This is a must see even for the locals. If you want to sink into history with all of todays amenities , this is for... you. And... with all the personal details you will feel totally pampered as well!read more

Wow! This place earned all 5 stars and then some. Someone has taken great care in restoring this building. LOVE the... original tin ceiling and the beautiful doors and trim. I have never stayed in a place that offered so many small touches - heated bathroom floor, towel warmer, lovely robes, umbrellas in case it rains and so much more. The furniture was comfortable. I will stay here every time I visit Pocahontas!read more

What it’s like to stay with us

Lesmeister Guesthouse is designed for guests who are mostly self-sufficient. We do not have staff on-site most of the time. There is no check-in desk. We are not a hotel. We are not a bed and breakfast. Each apartment has a full kitchen. Each suite has a microwave oven, mini-refrigerator, coffee maker, and ice maker.
When you stay with us, you are mostly on your own. We will have your accommodations ready for you by check-in time. We will provide you with a personal 4-digit code you'll use at the door to gain admission to your suite. Come and go as you wish, day or night.
Make yourself at home! We'll give you a starter supply of things like coffee, soap, and toilet paper. If you run out of something, do what you'd do at home: go to a store and restock. Contact us if you really need us and we'll make every effort to help you out as soon as we can get there!

The Pocahontas National Commercial Historic District

Pocahontas is a real town, not just a suburb of some larger place. Our 18 block commercial historic district is the largest such district in Arkansas. Still mostly a “diamond in the rough”, buildings in this area retain most of their historic features, though some were covered by “modern” facades in the 1950’s and 60’s.

Our historic district is slowly but steadily being reborn as the wonderful place it was over 100 years ago, and Lesmeister Guesthouse is leading the way! The restoration of the building, removing modern additions and facades and restoring the historic appearance, has gone a long way in motivating local property owners to care for structures that have too-long been taken for granted here.